Milford Track: Day 1

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The Milford Track; called by some the finest walk in the world. It stretches 53.5km through Fiordland National Park.

The Fiordland area averages 200 days a year of rain and in January the track sees an average of fifteen days of rain. I can expect to see at least one day of rain, and the rain can flood out parts of the track, forcing you to wade through water up to your waist.

Wish me luck.

In Te Anau I boarded a bus for Te Anau Downs and a ferry that would take me across the northern length of Lake Te Anau and drop me at Glade Warf, the true start of the track. The first day's hike is light, at only 5km over fairly even terrain. The trail followed the course of the Clinton River and there were several fly fisherman hoping to land some trout. It's a beautiful, peaceful place with amazing scenery. After reaching the Clinton Hut, several of us went back down the trail to the river for a swim. For most of us, the water was too cold to linger, but some brave souls made the most of it. Back to the hut for supper (dehydrated meals), a game of "bananas" (fast scrabble) with some of the hikers, and the ranger's talk.

There are about 40 of us sharing the track: a young family from Quebec City, a group of nine from Australia, another couple from Australia, two women from the States, a couple from Germany, a family from New Zealand, two framilies from Australia, a couple from the Netherlands, and a Welshman and his Scottish father-in-law.

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